Do's and Don'ts of a RP Character

[cally]

It could be just me, but I've seen so many RP characters like this: "Is the princess of the world, lost parents when was little, can control the moon and the sun and nature, can talk to animals, is so kind and shy and talented."

This is a kind of poor character development called "Mary Sue." (Or "Gary Stu" for boy RP characters.)

Mary Sues and Gary Stus are no fun to RP with. They get past any obstacle with no problem at all, and everyone seems to love them.

However, there is such thing as an "Anti-Sue" or "Anti-Stu." It's like this: "Will dominate the world someday, has hidden powers of destruction, can control fire and explosions, can brainwash everyone, is very evil and cruel and evil."

So how do you make sure your character isn't a Mary Sue or Gary Stu? Run through this acronym while designing your character:

Little Penguins Waddle Backwards So Dolphins Lose

LPWBSDL stands for "looks, personality, weaknesses, backstory, skills, dislikes, and likes."

Looks: Unless it's normal to have a crazy look in the RP, then try to be natural. Your character can have strangely colored hair as long as there's a reason, like she dyes it. Same goes for eye color, but your character can have color contacts.

Personality: This is a big one and it's a really important factor in deciding if your character is a Mary Sue or Anti-Sue. The thing is, (mostly) everyone wants their character to be successful and happy and have a nice life like a lot of people in real life. But if your life is literally perfect and you get everything you want, it's not much fun! So put in some bad stuff like "is stubborn, selfish, lazy."

Weaknesses: This is also important. Just to clear things up, things like "too kind" are not weaknesses! They're positive traits in disguise. There is a way to rephrase it, though. "Too kind" can be rephrased to "doormat." "Too talented" can mean "has a too big ego." Weaknesses are a crucial part of any character and without them, your character is a Mary Sue/Gary Stu.

Backstory: The backstory is a little less important, but it plays a role in your character and who they are today.

Skills: It can be fun to have unique skills, as long as they're not too crazy! Like you could be a martial artist, or a painter, or have great baking skill!

Dislikes and Likes: When doing dislikes and likes--and I cannot stress this enough--make sure they fit the character! I don't know how many characters I've seen that tend to match the RP player instead of the character. The point of RPs are to be someone you're not, and you can't do that if your character's likes are really yours. Be creative!

 

[Darthkitten216]

*Clap clap clap*

 

[ghostieboo]

this is gr8 although i say do wotever u want with looks

also folks out there there is a very fine boundry between "hard to overcome or defeat" and "totally unbeatable and OP" aka Mary Sue/Gary Stu so

being hard to defeat is ok! just make sure you got those weaknesses and you are INDEED beatable

 

[nickelboy757]

Also. Though I can't exactly explain it. I don't think CITY and TOWN RPs should have powers. Agreed?

 

[Darthkitten216]

Also. Though I can't exactly explain it. I don't think CITY and TOWN RPs should have powers. Agreed?

People can make their rps have powers if they want. I've seen town rps with powers.

 

[ghostieboo]

Also. Though I can't exactly explain it. I don't think CITY and TOWN RPs should have powers. Agreed?

It depends on the rp creator's intent lol

 

[PiVenturer]

this is gr8 although i say do wotever u want with looks

also folks out there there is a very fine boundry between "hard to overcome or defeat" and "totally unbeatable and OP" aka Mary Sue/Gary Stu so

being hard to defeat is ok! just make sure you got those weaknesses and you are INDEED beatable

theres a difference between Mary sue flaws, and an actual character flaw/weakness

 

[PiVenturer]

Being too pretty or too good at everything

There’s nothing bad about being pretty or good at a lot of things, it’s just what people say when they try to defend their Mary-Sue’s so they don’t have to fix them.

Stubbornness.
This does not mean all stubbornness, only when the characters are only stubborn until somebody explains it do them, then they change their minds.

Rage or temper problems

Not all characters with rage issues are Mary-Sue’s. A Mary-Sue with rage issues will never attack or even snap at any important character . The Mary-Sue would also only attack characters that fully deserve it.

Shy

This is sometimes used to make her seem more innocent. Funny how it goes away as soon as the popular friends start talking to her.

Disliking powers

Mary-Sue’s will claim to dislike their powers, often saying, “I just want to be normal.” Even when she has no weakness and is loved.

 

[PiVenturer]

these so called flaws arent actual flaws. theres a difference.

 

[PiVenturer]

as much as i agree with the statement, hard to overcome and OP are different, in the context of say, an op rper

 

[PiVenturer]

it does matter

 

[ghostieboo]

well i mean imo i don't think it's bad to make it a complex puzzle to beat someone

but tbh "op" is a sort of opinion definition so.. there are obviously going to have to be compromises if things are getting out of hand

 

[Darthkitten216]

well i mean imo i don't think it's bad to make it a complex puzzle to beat someone

but tbh "op" is a sort of opinion definition so.. there are obviously going to have to be compromises if things are getting out of hand

Op is "oh I know you just attacked me but it missed, oh and it missed that time to. Oh look it missed again! And "My oc has all the powers except the bad ones and has the best weapoins and is really smart and brave and you know stubborn and rash to but not really because they are always very careful in all the battles and always win" It's ok to have a powerful character, but they should not be flawless or have just one or two very small flaws that don't really take away from the character. And you can't just say "oh my character is perfect and strong in every way but can be reckless some times" and never have them be reckless. And no, reckless isn't "oh I'm going to go fight that army even though I'm out numbered but hey look I won any way aren't I great?" It's "Oh I'm going to go fight that army even though I'm outnumbered, oh no I got deafeated and now my team is mad at me" and Op being an opinion is not really true. If your character is strong and amazing and skilled and unbeatable and every one loves them and respects them that's pretty much op. Some "bad" personality traits that really annoy me are "shy" (and they are shy for the first 5 minutes and then are fine and every one is their friend) or "sensitive" or "too brave" or "to trusting/nice" I mean come on those are obviously just good traits in disguise. Your character can be shy but don't use it as a weakness so your character can pass the marysue test. I mean seriously do people even know what shy means? If your going to be shy some good negative traits to go with it like "cowardly" (and have them actually display that by maybe backing out of something important at the last minute or betraying their team in a mission because they were scared) or maybe "bitter" (yes shy people aren't always little innocent rays of sunshine) If you have a strong powerful character some weakness can be be "controlling" or "hurtful" or "selfish" (again, having them not display these traits makes them useless) when your making a character try to make them like an actual human being. Ok bye this post is getting long

 

[ghostieboo]

Op is "oh I know you just attacked me but it missed, oh and it missed that time to. Oh look it missed again! And "My oc has all the powers except the bad ones and has the best weapoins and is really smart and brave and you know stubborn and rash to but not really because they are always very careful in all the battles and always win" It's ok to have a powerful character, but they should not be flawless or have just one or two very small flaws that don't really take away from the character. And you can't just say "oh my character is perfect and strong in every way but can be reckless some times" and never have them be reckless. And no, reckless isn't "oh I'm going to go fight that army even though I'm out numbered but hey look I won any way aren't I great?" It's "Oh I'm going to go fight that army even though I'm outnumbered, oh no I got deafeated and now my team is mad at me" and Op being an opinion is not really true. If your character is strong and amazing and skilled and unbeatable and every one loves them and respects them that's pretty much op. Some "bad" personality traits that really annoy me are "shy" (and they are shy for the first 5 minutes and then are fine and every one is their friend) or "sensitive" or "too brave" or "to trusting/nice" I mean come on those are obviously just good traits in disguise. Your character can be shy but don't use it as a weakness so your character can pass the marysue test. I mean seriously do people even know what shy means? If your going to be shy some good negative traits to go with it like "cowardly" (and have them actually display that by maybe backing out of something important at the last minute or betraying their team in a mission because they were scared) or maybe "bitter" (yes shy people aren't always little innocent rays of sunshine) If you have a strong powerful character some weakness can be be "controlling" or "hurtful" or "selfish" (again, having them not display these traits makes them useless) when your making a character try to make them like an actual human being. Ok bye this post is getting long

Well I mean

anyone who doesn't see all that as OP is definitely a Mary Sue person

but I mean like.. some people might view say, someone who's very powerful and a massive obstacle as "OP" while others just see it as a difficulty to overcome

so it is indeed opinion to some extent although eventually it becomes fact

 

[memows]

this thread is a BLESSING


A good character shouldn't need to be hard to beat. Whether your character is likable or not doesn't depend on their power level. In fact, I personally believe it is easier to make likable characters when they aren't overly powerful. Powerful characters are usually either really good or just meh.

Honestly, I love characters who are completely different from what they seem to be. For example, I have a character named Finnick. Finnick is a very southern guy who is like, hardcore country. The type of guy who would sing country music about a truck as a child's lullaby.

But the thing is, Finnick grew up in one of the largest urban cities in the providence. His parents are the opposite of southern, no trucks, no cows, not even a pet. He works at a tech store and has no farming skills whatsoever. And news flash, he hates country music. Doubt he can tell the difference between a shovel and a manure fork. He hacks devices, not harvest hay. He wears the country persona as a mask of what he's really like. People see a sweet cowboy instead of the cold guy who doesn't know how to become what he wants. Doesn't mean a guy can dream though! Save up a good sum, move away, start his own farm. It's a legitimate dream that is a driving force in his life. Nothing helps grow a character better than a dream or a big thing they work for (or against). It's what makes us real.

As for developing character flaws: It's always great to look at personality types (like MBTI) to get a good grasp of how real people behave.

It's annoying to see people, especially those of a royal background, having unrealistic backgrounds.

(don't even get me started on royalty.)

A Mary Sue, for example, despite the things in her life, remains completely unchanged by her surroundings. It's annoying to see these edgy characters whose feelings are either completely unrealistic or very, very poorly fitted into the situation. A person who has seen mass fighting/slaughter of innocents will either be numb to it, tired and ready for a change or along of lines of traumatized. Unless they are already severely twisted and enjoy seeing the suffering, which is rare. A character should be constantly changing from their environment. Everything about them should have a proper explanation that grounds them in their reality. A glowy eye that shoots lasers? It should have some explanation available whether it be a genetic trait or a result of meddling in magic.

mmmm, would you look at that, I've already written an essay and I haven't even started...

 

[ghostieboo]

Also um as Lego said earlier "too nice" or "too trusting" CAN be truly negative.. although you might wanna reword it.. like perhaps too nice/trusting could be "doormat", or "shy" could be used in it's actual meaning (they like to be sort of back and aren't much of an attention person).

Like someone too nice could end up letting an enemy in disguise on on a plan, for example

 

[memows]

Also um as Lego said earlier "too nice" or "too trusting" CAN be truly negative.. although you might wanna reword it.. like perhaps too nice/trusting could be "doormat", or "shy" could be used in it's actual meaning (they like to be sort of back and aren't much of an attention person).

Like someone too nice could end up letting an enemy in disguise on on a plan, for example

Usually, this is grouped into being gullible. Although realistically a gullible person who is constantly taken advantage of will become hardened and cold. Fast.

it takes a real moron to not realize they are being constantly used

 

[ghostieboo]

this thread is a BLESSING


A good character shouldn't need to be hard to beat. Whether your character is likable or not doesn't depend on their power level. In fact, I personally believe it is easier to make likable characters when they aren't overly powerful. Powerful characters are usually either really good or just meh.

Honestly, I love characters who are completely different from what they seem to be. For example, I have a character named Finnick. Finnick is a very southern guy who is like, hardcore country. The type of guy who would sing country music about a truck as a child's lullaby.

But the thing is, Finnick grew up in one of the largest urban cities in the providence. His parents are the opposite of southern, no trucks, no cows, not even a pet. He works at a tech store and has no farming skills whatsoever. And news flash, he hates country music. Doubt he can tell the difference between a shovel and a manure fork. He hacks devices, not harvest hay. He wears the country persona as a mask of what he's really like. People see a sweet cowboy instead of the cold guy who doesn't know how to become what he wants. Doesn't mean a guy can dream though! Save up a good sum, move away, start his own farm. It's a legitimate dream that is a driving force in his life. Nothing helps grow a character better than a dream or a big thing they work for (or against). It's what makes us real.

As for developing character flaws: It's always great to look at personality types (like MBTI) to get a good grasp of how real people behave.

It's annoying to see people, especially those of a royal background, having unrealistic backgrounds.

(don't even get me started on royalty.)

A Mary Sue, for example, despite the things in her life, remains completely unchanged by her surroundings. It's annoying to see these edgy characters whose feelings are either completely unrealistic or very, very poorly fitted into the situation. A person who has seen mass fighting/slaughter of innocents will either be numb to it, tired and ready for a change or along of lines of traumatized. Unless they are already severely twisted and enjoy seeing the suffering, which is rare. A character should be constantly changing from their environment. Everything about them should have a proper explanation that grounds them in their reality. A glowy eye that shoots lasers? It should have some explanation available whether it be a genetic trait or a result of meddling in magic.

mmmm, would you look at that, I've already written an essay and I haven't even started...

Haaha some of us get really into backstories like me and Kay..

But yeah seriously.. a Mary Sue would be like.. they could get smacked by a 100 ton truck and feel nothing

Make sure your characters react appropriately according to their personalities and stuff

ALso I have a very very different OC style from that.. lol

Like um I do have a lot of characters with quite the power.. but they also have major weaknesses that counter power easily. Charlie for example is a little too reliant on his time abilities.. so if you cut those off.. yeah. Or Lukas is very VERY weak to dark energy, like a soccer ball of that stuff can be lethal to him..

One of my villains, Negative, is an extremely dominant character of mine (literally my post powerful villain) who has climbing power because they can leech on certain things for power, and everyone who's fallen to their control also contributes to their power. But kind of ironically Negative's powerful planning and strength is their very weakness. If you plan a few steps ahead (likely requiring gathering info on them), you could trip them up and destroy them.

So yea, I have lots of strong characters and also lots of average characters. I don't like being weak tho so.. that usually leads to me accidentally going over-the-top with trying to not get beaten of course I never have intents of being op

 

[ghostieboo]

Usually, this is grouped into being gullible. Although realistically a gullible person who is constantly taken advantage of will become hardened and cold. Fast.

it takes a real moron to not realize they are being constantly used

Well with some smarts, a pretty good character could not realize they're being used..

 

[memows]

Haaha some of us get really into backstories like me and Kay..

But yeah seriously.. a Mary Sue would be like.. they could get smacked by a 100 ton truck and feel nothing

Make sure your characters react appropriately according to their personalities and stuff

ALso I have a very very different OC style from that.. lol

Like um I do have a lot of characters with quite the power.. but they also have major weaknesses that counter power easily. Charlie for example is a little too reliant on his time abilities.. so if you cut those off.. yeah. Or Lukas is very VERY weak to dark energy, like a soccer ball of that stuff can be lethal to him..

One of my villains, Negative, is an extremely dominant character of mine (literally my post powerful villain) who has climbing power because they can leech on certain things for power, and everyone who's fallen to their control also contributes to their power. But kind of ironically Negative's powerful planning and strength is their very weakness. If you plan a few steps ahead (likely requiring gathering info on them), you could trip them up and destroy them.

So yea, I have lots of strong characters and also lots of average characters. I don't like being weak tho so.. that usually leads to me accidentally going over-the-top with trying to not get beaten of course I never have intents of being op

Usually, my antagonistic characters are less of the "big baddie" and more of a character with twisted morals and although is serving the greater good, is doing it in a very unnecessary fashion.

I usually categorize my characters as either offensive, defensive or more of a gray neutral. Finnick is more offensive with a sick pair of dual swords, but he relies too much on agility/speed instead of proper defense. Relying on my other character, Jr., to cover him (consequently draining more energy defending Finnick than properly defending himself and getting his main objective done.)